Biologics for Immune-Mediated Sensorineural Hearing Loss.

Immune-mediated hearing losses include autoimmune inner ear disease, sudden sensorineural hearing loss, and Meniere's disease. Standard therapy for an acute decline in hearing is timely use of corticosteroids. Although 60% to 70% of patients are initially corticosteroid-responsive, that responsiveness is lost over time. In corticosteroid-resistant patients, increased expression of interleukin (IL)-1 is observed, and these patients may benefit from IL-1 inhibition. Autoinflammatory diseases are characterized by dysregulation of the innate immune response, clinically include sensorineural hearing loss, and benefit from IL-1 inhibition, thereby further establishing the relationship of IL-1 with immune-mediated sensorineural hearing loss.